The Spooktacular History of Halloween Traditions and Lore

Halloween in the 1930s

Why is Halloween the "spooky season" in the first place? How did this nonsense begin?

Well as you've no doubt heard, supposedly this time of year is a "liminal," meaning "on the threshold." ("Subliminal" means "beneath the threshold (of conscious perception).)

Supposedly, during liminal times, the "walls separating the mortal realms from the 'other worlds' (both the spirit realms and the lands of the fairies) are lower."

I guess because this time is at the end of autumn -- in Germanic languages, "the fall" or "autumn" is just literally called 'harvest." Herbst in German, for example.

So this time is between two seasons and therefore between two worlds.

That's an idea with a lot of salience in folktales -- crossroads, for example, are also believed to be space between two worlds, which is why you might see ghosts or even the devil in a crossroads.

Crossroads are viewed in global folklore and legends as liminal "thin places" where the barrier between the living world and the spirit realm weakens.
Folklore and Supernatural Beliefs
* Spirits and Lost Souls: Crossroads are often said to confuse wandering or restless spirits. Historical burials of criminals or people who died by suicide at intersections led to beliefs that their spirits would face four paths and get lost.
* Spectral Animals: The British Isles feature legends of spectral black dogs--such as the Black Shuck or Barghest--which are seen at crossroads as harbingers of death.

Halloween is a contraction of All Hallow's Eve. The following day, November first, is All Saint's Day, so the night before is the eve of all the hallowed, the sainted.

To hallow means "to set apart as holy."

Are the words connected? Yes they are:

The words hallow and holy share a direct and deep etymological connection, both coming from the same ancient root meaning "whole" or "healthy".
Etymological Lineage
* Hallow: From the Old English verb hälgian ("to make holy, consecrate") and the noun hälga ("holy person or saint"). This evolved into Middle English halwe and modern hallow.
* Holy: From the Old English adjective hälig ("holy, sacred, or consecrated"), which developed directly from häl ("whole").
* Proto-Germanic Root: Both trace back to Proto-Germanic hailagaz / *hailagōn (holy, sacred, or set apart).
* Proto-Indo-European Root: Going further back, they stem from the PIE root *kailo- meaning "whole, uninjured, or of good omen".

Of course, this is probably a case of early Church syncretism, or the merging of pagan traditions with Christian ones. Mostly just the dates.

Because November 1st happens to be an ancient festival:

Samhain is an ancient Gaelic festival celebrated on November 1 that marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter.
Meaning and Timing
* Pronunciation: Commonly pronounced "sow-in" (rhyming with cow-in or sau-in).
* Dates: Celebrations traditionally begin at sunset on October 31 and continue through November 1, as the Celtic day starts and ends at sunset.
* New Year: It marked the Celtic New Year and the transition into the "darker half" of the year.

The origin of the Jack O'Lantern is interesting and very pagan.

Apparently it was a Druidic custom to light communal bonfires. I assume these bonfires had some religious/cultic purpose. Then, when the fire had died down, the embers or coals from the fire would be transported to the individual hearths of the worshippers, so that the later fires would be descended from the communal ones.

These coals were carried from the communal bonfire to the home hearth in... hollowed out turnips or gourds. Faces began to be carved into these fire-transporting turnips to ward away evil spirits. I don't know when pumpkins were used for this purpose, if ever, but the pumpkin with fire inside is clearly a direct descendant of the coal-toting turnip.

The actual name "Jack O'Lantern" emerged from later, Christian-age Irish folktales about someone who tried to trick the devil.

A grumpy bastard of a blacksmith by the name of Stingy Jack invites the devil for a drink but refuses to pay (hence, the "stingy" descriptor). He convinces the devil to shape-shift into a coin to cover the tab. But when the devil obliges, Jack sticks the coin in his pocket. And much to the devil-coin's dismay, there is a silver cross in that pocket, preventing him from returning to his original form. A deal is struck. Jack sets the devil free and, in return, the devil agrees A) to bar Jack from entering hell when he dies, and B) to leave Jack alone for a year.
A quick aside: This seems like a bad deal. And it is a bad deal -- because guess what? A year later, the devil comes back to mess with Jack. Only Jack is ready for him. He convinces the devil to climb a tree so he might enjoy a delicious piece of fruit.

Note that this tale involves fruit. As you'll see, most Halloween traditions are fruit-based.

Once the devil is up in the tree, Jack carves a cross into the trunk. The devil can't come down. Another (bad) deal is struck, although this one does have the advantage of being slightly less bad than the previous one. Jack frees the devil in exchange for ten years of peace.
Jack dies. (Don't be sad. He was an asshole.) The devil, true to his word, refuses to let Jack into hell. God, meanwhile, refuses to let Jack into heaven. So, what is Jack's fate? To wander forever in eternal darkness, of course. But because the devil is not totally heartless (wait...), he tosses Jack a lump of burning coal from hell so he can have a bit of light. Jack carves out a turnip and sticks the coal inside, creating a lantern. Hence, "Jack of the Lantern," which is later shortened to "Jack O'Lantern."

Kids have been dressing up in costumes for a long, long time.

I don't know when this began, but an early example of it is kids going out "guising" -- wearing disguises.

In the Shetland Islands, kids dressed as "skeklers," wearing dresses made of wheat stalks.

Etymology and Origins
* Skekel / Skekle: The root noun in the Shetland dialect means a masked or disguised person, a guiser, or specifically someone wearing a straw dress at Halloween.
* Norn Roots: The term originates from the historical Norn language (a North Germanic language spoken in Shetland and Orkney until the 18th/19th century before being replaced by Scots).
* Skakling: Recorded in local almanacs to describe the start of the winter half-year around All Saints' Day (November 1st).

Kids dressed up in dresses made of straw is kinda creepy!

This custom involved what evolved into trick or treating:

* Costume: Made from local oat-straw woven into a skirt (gloy), a short cloak, and a tall, pointed straw mask or hat.
* Tradition: Skeklers traveled from house to house (hoosamylla) in small groups between mid-October and late January, dancing and playing music in exchange for food or drink.
* Leadership: The group was traditionally directed or led by a figure known as the scuddler.

Apparently people used to put apples on the thresholds of their doors as an offering to evil spirits, who would be placated by the sweets and not trouble the family inside.

But kids became coming by afterwards and asking for the apples which had not actually been carried off by spirits, which I would imagine was most of them.

And from that: begging for candy in costume.

Bobbing for apples is closely associated with Halloween. Remember, this coincides with the final harvest of the year, so apples are significant. As I mentioned, fruit was central to many Halloween traditions:

In America today, Halloween is most often associated with pumpkins and candy. For centuries in the British Isles, though, this eerie night was linked with apples, nuts, and cabbage, all of which were given secret powers...
Among all the food traditions of Halloween, apples appear most often. There are loose theories for why apples are so special on this day. They've long been thought to have an uncanny magic: in Welsh folklore, for instance, they carry a whiff of immortality. In the Book of Hallowe'en, an early 20th century study of October 31 traditions, Ruth Edna Kelley writes that apples came to Halloween through the colonizing Romans, who linked their fall apple festival with the Celtic Samhain.

But the game didn't start as bobbing for apples in water. Instead, the apples were bobbed for in between fire.

A stick was hanged from the ceiling by its middle so that it was suspended horizontally, and free to spin on the string holding it. On one side was stuck an apple. On the otherside, a lighted candle. Then the stick would be set to spinning and you would, without your hands, bob and bite at the apple as it spun around, trying to avoid being licked in the face by the flame or hit in the eye with hot candle-wax.

This "game" was called "snap-apple," and, if I might channel the noted ethnologist Donald Trump, it's a shit-hole tradition.

Oh, and winning the game -- eating the apple without taking a mouthful of flame -- would mean that you would be the first to marry or marry whatever person you liked.

Another version of the game involved suspending apples on strings from the ceiling, no sticks or candles involved. This is safer, though far less Mëtäl.

Another variation:

Sometimes the apples would be labeled or marked by young men and women before they were put in a tub of water: the person who caught your apple could be your mate. In another version of snap apple, a hoop is suspended from the ceiling, and different treats and tricks, including cake, candies, bread, apples, and peppers, are stationed along its rim. The one a player caught with their teeth would foretell the nature of their love--would it be sweet, spicy, too hot? Would it nourish or burn them?

A lot of fruit, a lot of eating, and a lot of promise of sex.

Even cabbages had sexual bend:

If none of these fortune telling methods went your way, you could still resort to cabbage. One tradition involved pulling kale stalks from a field: the nature of the stalk, its weight, length, girth, and taste, would hint at one's future spouse.

I'm not going to unpack that.

A lot of divinations were of the "ill fortune" type:

Some people would bake a ring and nut into the cake--the finder of the nut would be a widow or widower. In another version, the cake had a coin, a sloe berry and a bit of wood baked in. The coin meant wealth, the sloe meant you'd outlive all your friends and the wood meant you'd die within the year.

Yay!

This being a "liminal time" when the "walls between the worlds were lower" led to Halloween being a time for minor magics like divination of the future.

And this divination usually involved predicting your future spouse.

In one divination game, you would peel an apple all in one big peel, then throw the apple peel over your shoulder. When the peel landed on the floor, it would form a letter, which would be the first letter of the name of the person you would marry.

This magical divination predicts a lot of spouses with names beginning with I, J, G, S, Z, and C, and maybe a D here and there, but anyone whose name began with K, X, Y, R, B or any letter formed by multiple strokes was shit out of luck and would die a lonely spinster.

Another of these "see your future spouse" games involved going into a darkened, lonely room with only a candle for light and looking at a mirror. Supposedly, over your shoulder and behind you, would appear the dark, fuzzy form of the person you would wind up marrying.

Obviously this just relies on darkness and unsteady light and seeing what you want to see.

I read about this "candle in a mirror and your future spouse appears behind you" game in Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party, which also featured "snap-apple," but I'm pretty sure it was the safe version without the candle.

Oh, and the victim is killed by being drowned in the tub for bobbing apples. Oh, and also, despite the book being set in the 1960s, they casually mention that the village has a "village witch" like this is a normal thing that most villages have and needs no further explanation.

What? English villages all had a village witch, the same as they had a butcher or postman?

There were other variations.

In many variations, the seeker was forced to walk backward, which aided the tension. From a 1916 story in the Alaska Daily Empire out of Juneau, "Little girls duck for apples till they are wet from head to foot, walk down the cellar stairs backward, hold a candle before a mirror to see their future husbands."
The opportunities for shenanigans are obvious. Friends stealthily followed behind mirror-toting players, or hid in the darkened destinations. At the right moment, they leaped from the shadows, screams stabbing the night before terror collapsed into giggles. Or, there was the potential for romantic assignations. A hopeful young man, yearning to make his feelings known, could plan to reveal himself in a mirror. As another postcard suggested, "of course this affair must be prearranged to be successful for the Witches are busy and can't tend to everybody."

This one, via Google AI (but I've read it elsewhere), is even more dangerous than snap-apple:

Walking Backwards Down Stairs: Some variations required a person to hold a hand-mirror and walk backwards down a dark flight of stairs at midnight to catch a reflection of their future mate.

That is a shithole tradition way to wind up in traction.

We've all noticed that Halloween has become, for older teenagers and young adults, a holiday all about sex. Girls dress like literal streetwalkers. It's a hookup holiday.

But I didn't realize until writing this post... it's literally always been a holiday closely associated with sex. Even stuff like the ripe, full apples suggest sexual maturation and pregnancy.

Sure, magical games to see your future spouse are the socially acceptable way to suggest sex, but it's still mostly about sex. This holiday has always had mating on its mind, from the early pagan days.

So: magic, pagan traditions, "lowering the veils" between the worlds, evil spirits and the devil. And on top of it all: the suggestion of sex.

No wonder religious people have such a problem with it.

Many of the ideas in this post came from this video about the folklore that may have inspired It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

MaaikeDx
@RembrandtsRoom
Oct 31, 2024
Taken in 1936 during a photo session at Raynham Hall in Norfolk. The photographers captured the original lady of the house, Lady Dorothy Townsend, descending the staircase. One of the most famous "ghost photograph" ever

Spooky Talafreako:

@AceofSpadesHQ Happy Halloween https://t.co/41XXk2ODbH
— simplicissimus🇺🇸 (@DrBoecker) October 30, 2026

I had planned on reviewing Backrooms and Obsession but I'm going to skip that. But definitely use the threat to suggest spooky movies for your fellow Morons.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 03:20 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 1

Posted by: doug at October 30, 2026 03:09 PM (B1+sW)

2 I need to get a life

Posted by: doug at October 30, 2026 03:10 PM (B1+sW)

3 yeet!

Posted by: nurse ratched at October 30, 2026 03:11 PM (W2Pud)

4 The kid in the middle has the most lifelike mask.

Posted by: Ted Torgerson at October 30, 2026 03:12 PM (CDHND)

5 FIRST!!!!!

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:12 PM (ccf/V)

6 yeet!
Posted by: nurse ratched at October 30, 2026 03:11 PM (W2Pud)

Reminds me........I need to find my "no yeet" shirt......

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:12 PM (ccf/V)

7 Could it be...Satan?

Posted by: The Church Lady at October 30, 2026 03:12 PM (skR0U)

8 FIRST!!!!! as it should be

Posted by: doug at October 30, 2026 03:13 PM (B1+sW)

9 Hmm, you know, I might need to revisit "Dale and Tucker Versus Evil" and the "Evil Dead" trilogy,.

Posted by: Blake - semi lurker in marginal standing at October 30, 2026 03:13 PM (eGzf1)

10 I thought it was a turnip.

Also, how was the movie?

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at October 30, 2026 03:15 PM (zZu0s)

11 I read the content...

Posted by: lin-duh at October 30, 2026 03:15 PM (VCgbV)

12 Seems the water baby head was in style in the 30's costume options.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:15 PM (ccf/V)

13 Traditional Chinese architecture features raised door thresholds. They are designed to keep out evil spirits, because the spirits are "physically" unable to step over the threshold.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:15 PM (iFTx/)

14 Willowed and re-posting re an ongoing sub-topic this morning. Will have an on-topic comment as well.

(topic: young pro athletes and their money being soon parted)

"Only one data point from direct experience. Familiar with an AHL hockey player who described a complete supportive bubble within which he and the other guys lived.

Their only purpose was to practice and play hockey. Everything else - from finding a place to live, transportation if needed, even laundry service - was paid for/arranged by the team. Financial advisors (with a very aggressive conservative spiel on money management), tax preparers were provided, which addresses the main topic here.

Of course these minor league guys aren't generally pulling in the long green, but a portion of them do rotate up to the bigs and get a $$ bump and some stay there for a while or forever, at which point of course they're handed off to that team's support network. Lots of sociological and other differences with basketball and football player backgrounds, in general, but seems that pro hockey at least is taking a pro-active approach to help the young guys avoid trouble."

Posted by: rhomboid at October 30, 2026 03:15 PM (U/Byj)

15
Kids dressed up in dresses made of straw is kinda creepy!

Itchy and Scratchy

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at October 30, 2026 03:16 PM (Cqx++)

16 There is only one spooky movie, and I mention it every Halloween! The Shining. 66 years scary and counting!

Posted by: runner at October 30, 2026 03:16 PM (AKptf)

17 Dale and Tucker Versus Evil

*Guy goes into the wood chipper*
Tucker: "Are you OK?"

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 30, 2026 03:16 PM (skR0U)

18 go ahead, try to watch it with lights out

Posted by: runner at October 30, 2026 03:16 PM (AKptf)

19 (Via GP)

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has announced that the Texas Department of Agriculture will no longer award eligible department-administered grants to businesses that employ H-1B visa holders, directing taxpayer dollars toward Texas workers instead of companies that rely on temporary foreign labor.

Miller said Texas taxpayers work hard for their money and deserve to know their tax dollars create opportunities for Texans rather than subsidize businesses that choose foreign labor while Texans are ready and willing to work.

Posted by: Crusader at October 30, 2026 03:16 PM (TN0g+)

20 I'm not going to unpack that.

I was almost sure you'd comment, "I'm leaving that to Garrett to explain."

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:16 PM (l3cgK)

21 *tosses grenade down storm drain*

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 30, 2026 03:17 PM (r2Icn)

22 16 There is only one spooky movie, and I mention it every Halloween! The Shining. 66 years scary and counting!
Posted by: runner at October 30, 2026 03:16 PM (AKptf)
------------------
The Jack Nicholson one, right? Not the Stephen Weber one?

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 30, 2026 03:17 PM (skR0U)

23 Jack and Jill went up the hill
Each with a buck and a quarter
Stingy Jack came down with two-fifty

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:17 PM (iFTx/)

24
Of course these minor league guys aren't generally pulling in the long green, but a portion of them do rotate up to the bigs and get a $$ bump and some stay there for a while or forever, at which point of course they're handed off to that team's support network. Lots of sociological and other differences with basketball and football player backgrounds, in general, but seems that pro hockey at least is taking a pro-active approach to help the young guys avoid trouble."

Posted by: rhomboid at October 30, 2026 03:15 PM (U/Byj)

Former San Jose Sharks player Evander Kane was cut from the team after they learned he was filing for bankruptcy after blowing his entire 8 figure contract on gambling.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:18 PM (ccf/V)

25 World Series winners worried about Iran?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at October 30, 2026 03:18 PM (Cqx++)

26 Some people would bake a ring and nut into the cake--the finder of the nut would be a widow or widower. In another version, the cake had a coin, a sloe berry and a bit of wood baked in. The coin meant wealth, the sloe meant you�d outlive all your friends and the wood meant you�d die within the year.

That gives a different meaning to having wood...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:18 PM (l3cgK)

27
Miller said Texas taxpayers work hard for their money and deserve to know their tax dollars create opportunities for Texans rather than subsidize businesses that choose foreign labor while Texans are ready and willing to work.

Posted by: Crusader at October 30, 2026 03:16 PM (TN0g+)

Read that this morning. Go Texas!

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:19 PM (ccf/V)

28 Reminds me of the orgy in Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev. But Google says that is Midsummer's Eve, not Halloween.

Somewhere once I read a remark that most of Crime and Punishment happens with someone standing in a threshold, so it is a liminal novel.

Posted by: frammish at October 30, 2026 03:19 PM (rcENI)

29 Rep. Keith Self
House Republicans
@RepKeithSelf
I just cosponsored the Judicial Loyalty Act to require ALL American judges to be natural-born citizens.

This is a commonsense safeguard to protect the Constitution from foreign influence and ensure those who interpret our laws have undivided loyalty to the United States.

Radical judicial activism must be stopped.

Every member of Congress should join me in supporting @RepPeteStauber’s bill.

Posted by: Crusader at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (TN0g+)

30 Jack and Jill went up the hill
Each with a buck and a quarter
Stingy Jack came down with two-fifty

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:17 PM (iFTx/)

You f*cked that up, my friend......

Posted by: Andrew Dice Clay at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (ccf/V)

31 the BEST dancing mister pumpkin head!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwr1st72wkY

Posted by: nurse ratched at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (W2Pud)

32 Some people would bake a ring and nut into the cake
---
Disgusting!

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (Fi81e)

33 MaaikeDx @RembrandtsRoom
Oct 31, 2024

Taken in 1936 during a photo session at Raynham Hall in Norfolk. The photographers captured the original lady of the house, Lady Dorothy Townsend, descending the staircase. One of the most famous "ghost photograph" ever

------------------------

There was a huge industry post WWI in England for retouching and manipulating photographs to insert fallen family members or isolate them from group photos for remembrance. Just sayin'

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (uhVAy)

34 Former San Jose Sharks player Evander Kane was cut from the team after they learned he was filing for bankruptcy after blowing his entire 8 figure contract on gambling.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer

Dude is a scumbag.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (r2Icn)

35 The Jack Nicholson one, right? Not the Stephen Weber one?
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 30, 2026 03:17 PM (skR0U)

yes, Kubrick's , the one from 1980

Posted by: runner at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (AKptf)

36 Someone yesterday asked for a creepy movie that is not a slasher. I recommend Lady in White as a good one.

"Trapped in the dark, Frankie encounters the spirit of a murdered child and becomes the target of a local serial killer, unearthing dark community secrets with the help of a mysterious grieving specter"

Posted by: LizLem at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (5aHaY)

37 My ex-wife was all over Halloween. She went to great lengths with decorations. Dressed up for days before.

I thought it weird.

Later on I discovered she's a witch. So....

Posted by: Martini Farmer at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (RORbl)

38 Made it home, and as of 6am that wasn't a given

Posted by: Skip at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (Ia/+0)

39 That was actually interesting. I might actually start reading the posts.

>>Another of these "see your future spouse" games involved going into a darkened, lonely room with only a candle for light and looking at a mirror. Supposedly, over your shoulder and behind you, would appear the dark, fuzzy form of the person you would wind up marrying.

We did this in jr high. It can produce some very weird and unpleasant visions.

Posted by: JackStraw at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (viF8m)

40
Valero is buying LyondellBasell's shuttered Houston refinery and intends to start up 165,000 bpd of light crude refining and is looking to expand to refining heavy, sour crude in the future.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 30, 2026 03:21 PM (eRlcH)

41 World Series winners worried about Iran?
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at October 30, 2026 03:18 PM (Cqx++)

Was out last night and they had the Packers / Panthers game on. I'll admit, it was kinda cool to see the Brewers players come out with the trophy and a couple of them do the Lambeau Leap and celebrate with fans for a moment.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:21 PM (ccf/V)

42 Hadrian the Seventh

Much faster than a brown field start. Progress.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 30, 2026 03:21 PM (u82oZ)

43 "And this divination usually involved predicting your future spouse."
_______

"Morons"

-- Tinder

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:22 PM (iFTx/)

44 Made it home, and as of 6am that wasn't a given

Posted by: Skip at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (Ia/+0)

Congrats!

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:22 PM (ccf/V)

45 Martini Farmer

Were you turned into a newt?

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 30, 2026 03:23 PM (u82oZ)

46 Halloween as an adult party thing, at least in the modern era, dates to the mid-late 80s. And it started, more or less, in DC, of all places. I recall a TIME magazine cover story (IIRC) on the topic in the late 80s, and it traced the trend to DC.

I was there and saw it. Actually our very large group house had yuuuuge, epic Halloween parties in college, just a bit earlier than this. But by the mid 80s, Georgetown streets would spontaneously fill with adult costumed people starting just after rush hour. Like most great things, this continued for a few years, with the cops finally blocking off streets to cars for a few hours, and then was killed by the merchants and others objecting.

Still recall how topical some of the get-ups were, which was amusing. The year Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in India, there was a group of guys dressed as "Sikh bodyguards" surrounding a Rajiv figure, carrying plastic sub-machine guns and fake-menacing anyone coming close. Then there was (I think the GW football team) group, obviously all fairly worked-out and larger guys, all wearing some pink flamingo outfits. A lot of hilarious and imaginative stuff.

Posted by: rhomboid at October 30, 2026 03:23 PM (U/Byj)

47 Did Ace like this movie? 😂😂😂. (j/k - thanks for the history lesson!)

Hello, Horde! 😊😊💕

Posted by: Teresa in Fort Worth, AoSHQ's Plucky Wee One - Eat the Cheesecake, Buy the Yarn. at October 30, 2026 03:23 PM (SRRAx)

48 32 Some people would bake a ring and nut into the cake

Chew each mouthful gently and thoroughly.

Posted by: Your local ER and/or Dentist at October 30, 2026 03:23 PM (skR0U)

49 Obviously this just relies on darkness and unsteady light and seeing what you want to see.
---
And not saying "Candyman" 3 times.

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:23 PM (Fi81e)

50
The actual name "Jack O'Lantern" emerged from later, Christian-age Irish folktales about someone who tried to trick the devil.

For getting the better of the devil, I prefer The Decameron and the story of how the holy hermit Rustico taught the comely young virgin princess Alibech how to Put The Devil Into Hell.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at October 30, 2026 03:23 PM (y9nCu)

51
Dude is a scumbag.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (r2Icn)

I thought he was "French Canadian."

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:23 PM (ccf/V)

52 Turn your hat around backwards, blink 3 times, pull a chicken leg bone out of your shoe, walk ten feet on your hands, and sneeze. This will do about as much as ANY other magic.

Posted by: Eromero at October 30, 2026 03:23 PM (LHPAg)

53 32 Some people would bake a ring and nut into the cake
---
Disgusting!

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (Fi81e)

Not the kind of icing I'm looking for...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:23 PM (l3cgK)

54 Note that this year, on the night of the unspeakable abomination that that is Halloween, we also commit the crime against all that is holy by turning our clocks back one hour. Coincidence? I think not. Send a SASE for a free copy of my newsletter.

Posted by: Idaho Spudboy at October 30, 2026 03:25 PM (VYHjw)

55 "Morons"

-- Tinder
Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:22 PM (iFTx/)

To be fair, Tinder is not known for producing lasting relationships.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at October 30, 2026 03:25 PM (zZu0s)

56 Former San Jose Sharks player Evander Kane was cut from the team after they learned he was filing for bankruptcy after blowing his entire 8 figure contract on gambling.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:18 PM (ccf/V)

Gambling is a touchy subject for organized sports. If he'd drunk it all he might still have a job.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:25 PM (uhVAy)

57 *harkens back to the Art Thread*

Mmmmmmm........boobs........

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:25 PM (ccf/V)

58 "Snap-apple" with fire?

Shiiiiiiiit ... I woulda done that a a kid! To impress a hottie? 100% woulda done it.

I was a bit of a reckless lunatic.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:25 PM (iFTx/)

59 And one more memorable thing from the spontaneous Georgetown Halloween events, what appeared to be some business travelers, who probably had no idea what they would walk into, wearing suits, carrying briefcases.

So they just took off their slacks and draped them neatly over the arm carrying the briefcase. All dressed up, boxers below, but a great field-expedient move to get in the spirit.

Posted by: rhomboid at October 30, 2026 03:25 PM (U/Byj)

60 I remember in the original Wickerman they had women jumping over a fire while going commando because supposedly that would make sure they got preggers.

They didn't know yet all you needed was a Honda Civic and a 6 pack of cheap beer

Posted by: 18-1 at October 30, 2026 03:25 PM (sKqQm)

61 If I could walk 10 feet on my hands, it would be magic.

Posted by: fd at October 30, 2026 03:25 PM (MWfyi)

62
Gambling is a touchy subject for organized sports. If he'd drunk it all he might still have a job.
Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:25 PM (uhVAy)

The league suspended him for a while, but last I heard, he came back and was playing again for one of the Canadian teams.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:25 PM (ccf/V)

63 Turn your hat around backwards, blink 3 times, pull a chicken leg bone out of your shoe, walk ten feet on your hands, and sneeze. This will do about as much as ANY other magic.
Posted by: Eromero at October 30, 2026 03:23 PM (LHPAg)

It will cure the foot pain from the chicken bone 100 percent.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:26 PM (uhVAy)

64 rhomboid

George Washington Univ. does not have a football team. The basketball or baseball players, maybe?

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 30, 2026 03:26 PM (u82oZ)

65 >>And not saying "Candyman" 3 times.

Good morning Mr Benson
I see you're doing well
If I had me a shotgun
I'd blow you straight to hell

Posted by: JackStraw at October 30, 2026 03:26 PM (viF8m)

66 It takes a village to see I'm a witch!

Posted by: Hillary at October 30, 2026 03:26 PM (n5tGW)

67 Later on I discovered she's a witch. So....
Posted by: Martini Farmer at October 30, 2026 03:20 PM (RORbl)

Well, at least you're not a newt anymore!*

*Wait. Are you?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 30, 2026 03:27 PM (1Ff7Z)

68 For getting the better of the devil, I prefer The Decameron and the story of how the holy hermit Rustico taught the comely young virgin princess Alibech how to Put The Devil Into Hell.
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at October 30, 2026 03:23 PM (y9nCu)
------

Hold my beer.

Posted by: Johnny from Georgia at October 30, 2026 03:27 PM (oqH4h)

69 Several other pagan holidays syncreted by the Catholic Church into Holy Days (Holidays): Easter and Valentine's Day. Especially Valentine's Day, a day of orgy.

https://tinyurl.com/58atecwe

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:27 PM (l3cgK)

70 12 Seems the water baby head was in style in the 30's costume options.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:15 PM (ccf/V)

Watch who you're calling water head!

Posted by: Zombie OJ Sompson at October 30, 2026 03:27 PM (kbbUi)

71
All Saints Day falls on a Sunday this year. The solemnity is transferred to Monday, but not the obligation. Catholics can receive a plenary indulgence by 1) being in a state of grace, without attachment to sin, 2) going to Confession, 3) receiving Communion, 4) visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead, 5) praying for the Pope's holy intentions.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 30, 2026 03:28 PM (eRlcH)

72 66 It takes a village to see I'm a witch!

Posted by: Hillary at October 30, 2026 03:26 PM (n5tGW)

No it doesn't...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:28 PM (l3cgK)

73 Apples?? Luxury! We had to bob for rocks.

Posted by: Carly Brown at October 30, 2026 03:28 PM (MWfyi)

74 I remember having to read The Lottery sometime in Jr High in October.

Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 03:29 PM (Ti9vn)

75 71
All Saints Day falls on a Sunday this year. The solemnity is transferred to Monday, but not the obligation. Catholics can receive a plenary indulgence by 1) being in a state of grace, without attachment to sin, 2) going to Confession, 3) receiving Communion, 4) visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead, 5) praying for the Pope's holy intentions.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 30, 2026 03:28 PM (eRlcH)

And if the Pope has unholy intentions?

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:29 PM (l3cgK)

76 32 Some people would bake a ring and nut into the cake

Chew each mouthful gently and thoroughly.
Posted by: Your local ER and/or Dentist at October 30, 2026 03:23 PM (skR0U)

I think in England even now there are commercial cakes with a little figure baked into them for ...whatever uses.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:29 PM (uhVAy)

77 And Valero is one of the companies that walked away from its CA refinery, I believe, despite the idiotic CA "government" at the last moment begging and screaming like Navajos for them to hang on. So much idiocy dragging down a country that, as great as it is, would be unimaginably better without the idiots looting and sabotaging at every turn.

Posted by: rhomboid at October 30, 2026 03:29 PM (U/Byj)

78 all saints day ?

Ay, de mí, Llorona, Llorona
Llorona de azul celeste ...

Posted by: runner at October 30, 2026 03:29 PM (AKptf)

79 Someone very kindly and positively reviewed one of my books:

https://t.co/ykaSzW5EUo

You should take inspiration and buy a copy.

A thousand copies.

Each.

For posterity.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:29 PM (xjopy)

80 73 Apples?? Luxury! We had to bob for rocks.

Posted by: Carly Brown at October 30, 2026 03:28 PM (MWfyi)

Unless you used pumice, that'll be a sunk cost.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:29 PM (l3cgK)

81
Posted by: Carly Brown at October 30, 2026 03:28 PM (MWfyi)

Nice link in nick

Ok....this has gone on far enough.......

Kquayperrious Renfroe

I can't come up with enough names to mash together to come up with THAT name......

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:30 PM (ccf/V)

82
While it's a bridge a good bit too far for me, Randall Carlson ties in Halloween with, you guessed it, the dreaded Younger Dryas. An ancient memory of it.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at October 30, 2026 03:30 PM (w6EFb)

83 Fun reading. Thanks Ace.

Posted by: scampydog at October 30, 2026 03:30 PM (2bFN5)

84 Anyone who thinks these old costumes are ugly should google the Michelin Man from the 1800s.

Egads. The ugiest and creepiest mascot of all time.

Ok, it's Friday and everyone's lazy so here's a link:

https://tinyurl.com/bdvm6fra

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:30 PM (iFTx/)

85 In cursive, as in apple peels, all letters are a single stroke.
Rejoice, all ye spinsters.

Posted by: From about That Time at October 30, 2026 03:31 PM (RE0lB)

86 You should take inspiration and buy a copy.

A thousand copies.

Each.

For posterity.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:29 PM (xjopy)

Become President.

Use tax dollars to by thousands of copies.

Give them to world leaders as gifts.

Profit!

Posted by: Barack Hussein Owebama at October 30, 2026 03:31 PM (ccf/V)

87 That's Kquayperrious De-Bobbian-Aunterrio RENFROE.

Posted by: Kquayperrious De-Bobbian-Aunterrio RENFROE at October 30, 2026 03:31 PM (MWfyi)

88 NaCly I don't know, though this was the 80s, they might have had a team then. Coulda been the Georgetown team, looked too old for high school. Those schools had small college/Div X teams in such sports at the time (basketball was where they had Div I teams).

Posted by: rhomboid at October 30, 2026 03:31 PM (U/Byj)

89 Obsession started off as a regular horror film, but something about the way the emotions of the main characters intertwine, and how things about them get revealed, made me immediately want to rewatch it so I could get the nuances I missed the first time. I totally get why it made more money the second weekend: people going back to catch new things, AND drag a friend along to talk about it with. If you don't think the main guy is the real monster of the movie, I don't know what to tell you. Apparently the next film in this universe will have a subtle easter egg revealing how things at the end of Obsession resolved.

Backrooms was disappointing, in that I wanted to see more of the liminal spaces seen during the game. But the main character's acting was phenomena, and larger themes about feeling stuck, about purpose and identity, were really good and made it stand out.

But I think the Conjuring is still my fave horror series because I love spending time with the main characters. The final film in the franchise has poignant themes I also want to revisit.

Also, doing my Universal monster movie rewatch! Sometimes the classics are the best. No school like the old school.

Posted by: LizLem at October 30, 2026 03:31 PM (M6ZCM)

90 I wasn't scared of the Headless Horseman until Bush Sr. passed that Americans With Disabilities Act. Up until that point he couldn't see or hear me (or anything for that matter). Now, you have to announce yourself by touching his leg with a stick or face a Federal Civil Rights charge.

I've resorted to giving apples to the horse to slow him down. If it weren't for PETA, I could just take out the horse and the Headless Horseman would end up living on the streets of San Francisco with the rest of the lunatics.

Posted by: Orson at October 30, 2026 03:31 PM (dIske)

91 69 Several other pagan holidays syncreted by the Catholic Church into Holy Days (Holidays): Easter and Valentine's Day. Especially Valentine's Day, a day of orgy.

https://tinyurl.com/58atecwe

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:27 PM (l3cgK)

Easter, or Paschal Sunday doesn't have a fixed day, predates the calendar change, and is the earliest major Christian holiday. The term Easter comes into play much later. Basically every day is the day of some Saint(or several rather).

Posted by: Red Turban Someguy at October 30, 2026 03:31 PM (okun6)

92 Photo at top is disturbing

Posted by: Don Black at October 30, 2026 03:32 PM (ZxPkt)

93 I love wearing my Halloween slutty Field Marshal costume of a chest full of medals and a Speedo.

Posted by: Field Marshal Zhukov at October 30, 2026 03:32 PM (bX16E)

94 It always seemed to me that All Saints Day was some holy day, so the demons and unclean spiritual forces really lived it up the night before.

Yeah, that's weird.

God's like "Yeah, but wait for November 1st! It's about SAINTS! It'll do .... something"

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:32 PM (Fi81e)

95 You dis me I KEEL YOU!

Posted by: Kquayperrious De-Bobbian-Aunterrio RENFROE at October 30, 2026 03:32 PM (MWfyi)

96 Never a newt... but for a short period of time during the divorce, was treated as one.

It was.... ugly.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at October 30, 2026 03:32 PM (RORbl)

97 While it's a bridge a good bit too far for me, Randall Carlson ties in Halloween with, you guessed it, the dreaded Younger Dryas. An ancient memory of it.
Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at October 30, 2026 03:30 PM (w6EFb)

Being struck by a meteor was always part of our Halloween traditions.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:32 PM (uhVAy)

98 84 Anyone who thinks these old costumes are ugly should google the Michelin Man from the 1800s.

Egads. The ugiest and creepiest mascot of all time.

Ok, it's Friday and everyone's lazy so here's a link:

https://tinyurl.com/bdvm6fra

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:30 PM (iFTx/)

...

Posted by: It's Bibendum at October 30, 2026 03:32 PM (l3cgK)

99 Wasn't Halloween a big event in the original Roseanne TV sitcom?

Posted by: Wenda at October 30, 2026 03:32 PM (W2eM/)

100 I forgot when I first heard it who was described as someone who Bobbed for French fries.

Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 03:32 PM (Ti9vn)

101
And if the Pope has unholy intentions?
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:29 PM (l3cgK)

____________

You're not praying for those. Traditionally, the Pope's holy intentions are:

- The triumph of the Church
- Peace among leaders
- The conversion of sinners

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 30, 2026 03:32 PM (eRlcH)

102 It always seemed to me that All Saints Day was some holy day, so the demons and unclean spiritual forces really lived it up the night before.

Yeah, that's weird.

God's like "Yeah, but wait for November 1st! It's about SAINTS! It'll do .... something"
Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:32 PM (Fi81e)

They come Marching In, of course.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:33 PM (uhVAy)

103 “ Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:10

Posted by: Marcus T at October 30, 2026 03:33 PM (dhhKu)

104 101
You're not praying for those. Traditionally, the Pope's holy intentions are:

- The triumph of the Church
- Peace among leaders
- The conversion of sinners

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 30, 2026 03:32 PM (eRlcH)

=========

And for sevens at the craps table.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:33 PM (xjopy)

105 But definitely use the threat to suggest spooky movies for your fellow Morons.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 03:20 PM

The Changeling. 1980. George C. Scott.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 30, 2026 03:33 PM (ctC8W)

106 Bob's Burgers always have a good Halloween episode except for this year when the season cut short.

I like Louise's costume one year when she went as a Dragon with a girl tattoo.

Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 03:34 PM (Ti9vn)

107 Or if you prefer

“ Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

Proverbs 16:24

Posted by: Marcus T at October 30, 2026 03:34 PM (dhhKu)

108 I take it that if a man had a beard he trimmed it before a round of snap apple.

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:34 PM (Fi81e)

109 Easter, or Paschal Sunday doesn't have a fixed day, predates the calendar change, and is the earliest major Christian holiday. The term Easter comes into play much later. Basically every day is the day of some Saint(or several rather).
Posted by: Red Turban Someguy at October 30, 2026 03:31 PM (okun6)

Its fun when a religion splits because they don't agree on what day Easter is supposed to fall.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:35 PM (uhVAy)

110 Or if you prefer

“ Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

Proverbs 16:24
Posted by: Marcus T at October 30, 2026 03:34 PM (dhhKu)

...and full of stinging bees

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:35 PM (uhVAy)

111 Valero is buying LyondellBasell's shuttered Houston refinery and intends to start up 165,000 bpd of light crude refining and is looking to expand to refining heavy, sour crude in the future.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 30, 2026 03:21 PM (eRlcH)
---------------

Meanwhile, the idled Benecia refinery in CA is set up to process heavy crude.

Posted by: Blake - semi lurker in marginal standing at October 30, 2026 03:35 PM (eGzf1)

112 91 69 Several other pagan holidays syncreted by the Catholic Church into Holy Days (Holidays): Easter and Valentine's Day. Especially Valentine's Day, a day of orgy.

https://tinyurl.com/58atecwe

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:27 PM (l3cgK)

Easter, or Paschal Sunday doesn't have a fixed day, predates the calendar change, and is the earliest major Christian holiday. The term Easter comes into play much later. Basically every day is the day of some Saint(or several rather).

Posted by: Red Turban Someguy at October 30, 2026 03:31 PM (okun6)

The pagan holiday and the Christian one are both in Spring.
Look up the Festival of Ishtar (where the word Easter comes from). Bunnies and chicks aren't part of the Judeo-Christian tradition of Passover/Last Supper (but lambs are). BTW, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder...

Posted by: It's Bibendum at October 30, 2026 03:35 PM (l3cgK)

113 >>>The Changeling. 1980. George C. Scott.

I always start to watch that.

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:36 PM (1wjle)

114 >>>94 It always seemed to me that All Saints Day was some holy day, so the demons and unclean spiritual forces really lived it up the night before.

Coolest scene of this was Disney's Fantasia. The demons go wild until the church bells sound, they slink away, and suddenly its holy choir music and a procession of lights for All Saints Day.

Something modern Disney would never touch.

Posted by: LizLem at October 30, 2026 03:36 PM (M6ZCM)

115 ...and full of stinging bees
Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:35 PM (uhVAy)
---
NOT THE BEES!!

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:36 PM (Fi81e)

116 It’s not the precision of the date. It’s the celebration of the event.

Posted by: Marcus T at October 30, 2026 03:36 PM (dhhKu)

117 Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has announced that the Texas Department of Agriculture

Miller crapped all over Gov. Abbott about the data centers and said rural voters are pissed at Abbott for not listening to them about their concerns. They are also pissed about transmission lines according to Sid M.

Posted by: Glenn at October 30, 2026 03:36 PM (nvKZ7)

118 Halloween ...

Bah, humbug !

Posted by: browndog says woof at October 30, 2026 03:37 PM (oCio0)

119 113 >>>The Changeling. 1980. George C. Scott.

I always start to watch that.

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:36 PM (1wjle)

=========

And then you do a George C. Scott in Hardcore?

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:37 PM (xjopy)

120 I don't like the horror genre but I really liked The Others which is probably more drama than horror.

It's a good movie to watch on Halloween.

Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 03:37 PM (Ti9vn)

121 Look up the Festival of Ishtar (where the word Easter comes from).

Posted by: It's Bibendum at October 30, 2026 03:35 PM (l3cgK)
---
There is actually new scholarship against that origin story.

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:38 PM (Fi81e)

122 Off large bulbous sock

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:38 PM (l3cgK)

123 And then you do a George C. Scott in Hardcore?
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:37 PM (xjo

I asked before but have you seen the doc Milius ?

Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 03:38 PM (Ti9vn)

124 If you don't think the main guy is the real monster of the movie, I don't know what to tell you. Apparently the next film in this universe will have a subtle easter egg revealing how things at the end of Obsession resolved.

Posted by: LizLem at October 30, 2026 03:31 PM (M6ZCM)

Wait....a MAN is the real villain? That NEVER happens, what a twist!

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:38 PM (uhVAy)

125 The Changeling. 1980. George C. Scott.

I always start to watch that.

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:36 PM (1wjle)
---
Great movie. I like twist.

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:39 PM (Fi81e)

126 >>>Also, doing my Universal monster movie rewatch! Sometimes the classics are the best. No school like the old school.

the last Old School movie I watched was The Invisible Man, a couple of years ago.

Oh, I watched the remake of The Wolf Man with Benecio Del Torres. It was.... okay.

It was too gory and I don't mean that in an "oh gross" way. I mean, when there's violence, you think "Oh I hope there's no awful gore." it's the anticipation/dread of coming gore that really matters. But early in the film, it's just a goreshow of arms being bitten off, so you relax because you know every single scene with the wolf will have gore. There's no dread of it, just acceptance of it.

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:39 PM (1wjle)

127 Coolest scene of this was Disney's Fantasia. The demons go wild until the church bells sound, they slink away, and suddenly its holy choir music and a procession of lights for All Saints Day.

Something modern Disney would never touch.
Posted by: LizLem

All to the strains of "Night on Bald Mountain".

Posted by: Tuna at October 30, 2026 03:39 PM (lJ0H4)

128
123 And then you do a George C. Scott in Hardcore?
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:37 PM (xjo

I asked before but have you seen the doc Milius ?

Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 03:38 PM (Ti9vn)

=======

I have not.

Though, John Milius fascinates me.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:39 PM (xjopy)

129 Wait....a MAN is the real villain? That NEVER happens, what a twist!

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:38 PM (uhVAy)
---
He's beaten by a woman assisted by a bear!

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:40 PM (Fi81e)

130 The pagan holiday and the Christian one are both in Spring.
Look up the Festival of Ishtar (where the word Easter comes from). Bunnies and chicks aren't part of the Judeo-Christian tradition of Passover/Last Supper (but lambs are). BTW, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder...

Posted by: It's Bibendum at October 30, 2026 03:35 PM (l3cgK)

Let's break this down.
1. Pagans and Christians celebrate holidays in the same seasons. Well yes, we live on the same planet subject to the same seasons.
2. The Ishtar thing is made up. It is also not the traditional name as the holiday and religious tradition is related to Passover(hence Paschal).
3. Yes today stuff has arbitrarily been merged into the holiday. That is not the same as saying this was the origin of the holiday. Stuff has been added in, and varies enormously by country, it did not start that way.

Posted by: Red Turban Someguy at October 30, 2026 03:40 PM (okun6)

131 >>>120 I don't like the horror genre but I really liked The Others which is probably more drama than horror.

very scary and lots of suspense and dread

definitely horror

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:40 PM (1wjle)

132 Most Italians love a celebration. It’s an opportunity to share a meal, and more importantly the company of people you love.

One of my favorites meals is a Seder with Jewish friends and family members. It reminds me of what binds us together, instead of what separates us.

Posted by: Marcus T at October 30, 2026 03:40 PM (dhhKu)

133 In Spanish, Easter is "Pascua", a nod to it's origins from Passover.

Pascua comes from the Vulgar Latin pascua, derived from Latin pascha, which in turn comes from Ancient Greek πάσχα (páskha, meaning "Passover"), and is ultimately rooted in Aramaic פסחא (paskha) and Hebrew פסח (pesakh).

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:40 PM (l3cgK)

134 The Ishtar vs. Easter Myth

• The Claim: A viral internet meme claims that Easter originally celebrated Ishtar (allegedly pronounced "Easter") and that symbols like eggs and bunnies belonged to her.
• The Reality:
• In almost all non-English languages, the name for Easter is derived from the Greek and Latin Pascha (or Hebrew Pesach / Passover), such as Pâques in French or Pasqua in Italian, which have zero connection to Ishtar.
• The English word "Easter" likely derives from an old Germanic/Anglo-Saxon calendar month or spring terms rather than a Babylonian deity.
• Historical sources show that Christian celebrations of the resurrection of Jesus predate English-speaking regional terms by centuries.

Posted by: Crusader at October 30, 2026 03:41 PM (TN0g+)

135 126 the last Old School movie I watched was The Invisible Man, a couple of years ago.

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:39 PM (1wjle)

=======

Fun note:

The bad guy in that was heavily inspired by Dr. Mabuse, especially Fritz Lang's second film about the German super villain: The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.

Also, Christopher Nolan told his brother Jonathan to study Mabuse while writing the Joker in The Dark Knight.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:41 PM (xjopy)

136 Pumpkins, like all the squashes, came from the new world, so no kids had any to carve or play with until Columbus and his followers brought some back from their journeys.

Gourds are old world, but not any edible squashes.

Posted by: Tom Servo at October 30, 2026 03:42 PM (yu2jU)

137 BTW, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder...
Posted by: It's Bibendum at October 30, 2026 03:35 PM (l3cgK)

So is it traditional to turn your Dad in to the cops in Jewish tradition? The ear being cut off must take a lot of squaring with the police afterward.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:42 PM (uhVAy)

138 ...spooky movies for your fellow Morons.
---------
Probably more dark than spooky. Angel Heart.

Posted by: scampydog at October 30, 2026 03:42 PM (2bFN5)

139 easter in French is Paques, in italian Buona Pasqua

all related directly to Passover

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:42 PM (1wjle)

140 >> Posted by: Red Turban Someguy at October 30, 2026 03:40 PM (okun6)

Please stop being factual and challenging things people read on the internet with actual verifiable history.

Thank you. lol.

Posted by: Marcus T at October 30, 2026 03:43 PM (dhhKu)

141
There is an astronomical tie-in with "Samhain" and the Pleiades too. Samhain is the cross-quarter point for the Sun's ecliptic longitude (45 degrees before the winter solstice). That occurs around Nov. 7 in the Gregorian calendar. With the Julian which was the one used back then, it would've been different.

At any rate, the Pleaides would transit very close to midnight on Oct. 31 back around 500 AD. Or somewhere around there. I'd have to check to make sure of the exact dates.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at October 30, 2026 03:43 PM (w6EFb)

142 My grandfather would throw salt over his left shoulder to ward off the devil and evil spirits.

Posted by: Ben Had at October 30, 2026 03:43 PM (8Uo7a)

143 have not.

Though, John Milius fascinates me.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:39 PM (xjopy)

You should be watch. It's free to watch . It's a good documentary.

Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 03:43 PM (Ti9vn)

144 Easter(n.)

Old English Easterdæg, "Easter day," from Eastre (Northumbrian Eostre), from Proto-Germanic *austron-, "dawn," also possibly the name of a goddess whose feast was celebrated in Eastermonað (the Anglo-Saxon month corresponding with April), from *aust- "east, toward the sunrise" (compare east), from PIE root *aus- (1) "to shine," especially of the dawn.

I might be wrong on the Ishtar/Easter connection, but the etymology of the word in English seems pagan.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:43 PM (l3cgK)

145 Mark Andrew Edwards wrote too much about horror a few months ago:

https://tinyurl.com/8zysx2kb

It caused a stir. Some people think his definition is too...restrictive.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:43 PM (xjopy)

146 the word Easter comes from an old English word like OEster, which means something like "dawn"

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:44 PM (1wjle)

147 I don't like the horror genre but I really liked The Others which is probably more drama than horror.

very scary and lots of suspense and dread

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:40 PM (1wjle)
---
I prefer suspence and dread--especially cosmic dread.

Carpenter's Prince of Darkness is one of my favorite movies of the horror genre.

It was in Carpenter's pseudo-Christian era with They Live. (Churches, faith actually has a meaning, though "lost")

Gore is a whole different thing to me.

People described Alien's as "gory", but I basically noticed, because the story was the main thing.

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:44 PM (Fi81e)

148 Pascua comes from the Vulgar Latin pascua, derived from Latin pascha, which in turn comes from Ancient Greek πάσχα (páskha, meaning "Passover"), and is ultimately rooted in Aramaic פסחא (paskha) and Hebrew פסח (pesakh).
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:40 PM (l3cgK)

And even in English, most Churches will still refer to Holy Week and times surrounding as the Paschal season.

Posted by: Tom Servo at October 30, 2026 03:44 PM (yu2jU)

149 The Claim: A viral internet meme claims that Easter originally celebrated Ishtar (allegedly pronounced "Easter") and that symbols like eggs and bunnies belonged to her.

Posted by: Crusader at October 30, 2026 03:41 PM (TN0g+)

Eggs and Rabbits are gonna belong to something, they were a universal food source for the populace everywhere. What they symbolize might vary, but Eggs are gonna be linked to birth for sure.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:45 PM (uhVAy)

150 >>>Carpenter's Prince of Darkness is one of my favorite movies of the horror genre.
It was in Carpenter's pseudo-Christian era with They Live. (Churches, faith actually has a meaning, though "lost")

everybody likes that movie except me

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:45 PM (1wjle)

151 • Historical sources show that Christian celebrations of the resurrection of Jesus predate English-speaking regional terms by centuries.

Posted by: Crusader at October 30, 2026 03:41 PM (TN0g+)
---
That's what I was thinking of.

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:46 PM (Fi81e)

152 I loved "Shadow of the Vampire" with Willem Dafoe, although it's more of a comedy than spooky movie.

Posted by: Tuna at October 30, 2026 03:46 PM (lJ0H4)

153 I saw a stat the other day that Halloween is the favorite holiday of 2 out of 3 people. Seems kinda weird to me if that's true. It's like my 5th.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at October 30, 2026 03:46 PM (n5tGW)

154 150 >>>Carpenter's Prince of Darkness is one of my favorite movies of the horror genre.
It was in Carpenter's pseudo-Christian era with They Live. (Churches, faith actually has a meaning, though "lost")

everybody likes that movie except me

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:45 PM (1wjle)

====

Prince of Darkness or They Live?

I suspect you are talking about They Live.

And I can tell you that you are not alone. They Live...underwhelms me, and even its most ardent defenders admit that the third act is trash.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:47 PM (xjopy)

155 93 I love wearing my Halloween slutty Field Marshal costume of a chest full of medals and a Speedo.
Posted by: Field Marshal Zhukov
======
Really scary to kids ringing the doorbell for candy when you show up to give it to them.

Posted by: whig at October 30, 2026 03:47 PM (E4rtv)

156 149 The Claim: A viral internet meme claims that Easter originally celebrated Ishtar (allegedly pronounced "Easter") and that symbols like eggs and bunnies belonged to her.

Posted by: Crusader at October 30, 2026 03:41 PM (TN0g+)

Eggs and Rabbits are gonna belong to something, they were a universal food source for the populace everywhere. What they symbolize might vary, but Eggs are gonna be linked to birth for sure.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:45 PM (uhVAy)

And rabbits...well, rabbits are proliferative...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:47 PM (l3cgK)

157 Best college parties were always the Halloween parties.

Posted by: nurse ratched at October 30, 2026 03:47 PM (W2Pud)

158 I love wearing my Halloween slutty Field Marshal costume of a chest full of medals and a Speedo.
Posted by: Field Marshal Zhukov
----
RMBS is this you?????

Posted by: lin-duh at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (VCgbV)

159 I've always been amused at how cultures created very powerful, dangerous monsters and then created the most nonsensical ways to avoid them.

Up above, it's noted that apples were put outside homes so dangerous (presumably evil) spirits would say "oh look, an apple, I won't go inside and eat anyone!"

In the Philippines, they had a serpent-dragon god big and powerful enough to swallow the moon. Bakunawa. How did they keep this planet-destroyer away? By banging pots and pans.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (iFTx/)

160 >>>Prince of Darkness or They Live?

Prince of Darkness. never liked it. My gf at the time saw it before me and reported "It's like every John Carpenter film, great premise, great opening, goes nowhere."

I can't say she was entirely wrong. (The Thing and some others excluded.)

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (1wjle)

161 Children of the Straw. Only slightly less creepy than Children of the Corn.

Posted by: Delurker at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (2Drhq)

162 I might be wrong on the Ishtar/Easter connection, but the etymology of the word in English seems pagan.
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:43 PM (l3cgK)

Well the etymology of most familiar basic items is going to be pagany, since Christianity is a latecomer and can't replace every word. Hence the infiltration of local festival ideas into Christian festivals.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (uhVAy)

163 Of course as a Lovecraft "fan", In the Mouth of Madness is my favorite Carpenter horror, for another reason entirely.

It's more fan service than PoD, and PoD is the more interesting premise, IMO.

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (Fi81e)

164 159 I've always been amused at how cultures created very powerful, dangerous monsters and then created the most nonsensical ways to avoid them.

Up above, it's noted that apples were put outside homes so dangerous (presumably evil) spirits would say "oh look, an apple, I won't go inside and eat anyone!"

In the Philippines, they had a serpent-dragon god big and powerful enough to swallow the moon. Bakunawa. How did they keep this planet-destroyer away? By banging pots and pans.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (iFTx/)

sounds pansexual...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:49 PM (l3cgK)

165 160 >>>Prince of Darkness or They Live?

Prince of Darkness. never liked it. My gf at the time saw it before me and reported "It's like every John Carpenter film, great premise, great opening, goes nowhere."

I can't say she was entirely wrong. (The Thing and some others excluded.)

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (1wjle)

========

Prince of Darkness is more nightmare logic than anything like a story. I get caught up in the images, especially that mirror, towards the end.

I like nightmare logic movies, though.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:49 PM (xjopy)

166 Prince of Darkness. never liked it. My gf at the time saw it before me and reported "It's like every John Carpenter film, great premise, great opening, goes nowhere."

I can't say she was entirely wrong. (The Thing and some others excluded.)
Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (1wjle)

The central joke/plot point might seem relevant today.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:50 PM (uhVAy)

167 Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:44 PM (Fi81e)

Based on John Steakly's novel. He only wrote two books. My favorite SciFi, Armor
and second , Vampires

I thought that was also the name of the movie.

Did Carpenter make two vampire movies?

Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 03:50 PM (Ti9vn)

168 >Carpenter's Prince of Darkness is one of my favorite movies of the horror genre.
It was in Carpenter's pseudo-Christian era with They Live. (Churches, faith actually has a meaning, though "lost")

everybody likes that movie except me

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:45 PM (1wjle)

====

Prince of Darkness or They Live?

I suspect you are talking about They Live.

And I can tell you that you are not alone. They Live...underwhelms me, and even its most ardent defenders admit that the third act is trash.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:47 PM (xjopy)
____________

Yea, but it has one of the greatest one-liners in all action-movie history ....

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum."

Supposely, Roddy Piper ad libbed that line.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:50 PM (iFTx/)

169 Reddit stock down 28.77% today.

Is it possible to die from too much schadenfreude?

Posted by: bonhomme at October 30, 2026 03:50 PM (mkw2N)

170 We are a weird species.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at October 30, 2026 03:51 PM (2UnvF)

171 In the Philippines, they had a serpent-dragon god big and powerful enough to swallow the moon. Bakunawa. How did they keep this planet-destroyer away? By banging pots and pans.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (iFTx/)

Also a good treatment for eclipses of the sun or moon.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:51 PM (uhVAy)

172 169 Reddit stock down 28.77% today.

Is it possible to die from too much schadenfreude?

Posted by: bonhomme at October 30, 2026 03:50 PM (mkw2N)

It has a stock ticker? What sort of idiot would buy into it?
Nevemind...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 30, 2026 03:51 PM (l3cgK)

173 Of course as a Lovecraft "fan", In the Mouth of Madness is my favorite Carpenter horror, for another reason entirely.

It's more fan service than PoD, and PoD is the more interesting premise, IMO.
Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (Fi81

Wasn't the book based on the movie?

Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 03:51 PM (Ti9vn)

174 The traditional greeting in Western Syriac Aramaic during the Paschal season which dates to the first and second centuries is “Mshiha qam” which translates to “Christ has Risen”. It is still spoken in places like Maaloula, in the Western Syrian mountains.

Posted by: Marcus T at October 30, 2026 03:52 PM (dhhKu)

175 168 Yea, but it has one of the greatest one-liners in all action-movie history ....

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum."

Supposely, Roddy Piper ad libbed that line.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:50 PM (iFTx/)

====

The first 2/3 is messy, angry, and memorable. It has real positive qualities.

But that third act, man. It's awful.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:52 PM (xjopy)

176 wearing a straw dress

The original flammable Halloween costume.

Posted by: DaveA at October 30, 2026 03:52 PM (FhXTo)

177 Reddit stock down 28.77% today.

Is it possible to die from too much schadenfreude?
Posted by: bonhomme at October 30, 2026 03:50 PM (mkw2N)

Reddit has stock?

"Experts predict the supply of cute kittens in r/cats is going to slump in the next quarter"

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:52 PM (uhVAy)

178 Is it possible to die from too much schadenfreude?
Posted by: bonhomme at October 30, 2026 03:50 PM (mkw2N)

Has it lasted longer than four hours?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 30, 2026 03:53 PM (1Ff7Z)

179 177 Reddit stock down 28.77% today.

Is it possible to die from too much schadenfreude?
Posted by: bonhomme at October 30, 2026 03:50 PM (mkw2N)

Reddit has stock?

"Experts predict the supply of cute kittens in r/cats is going to slump in the next quarter"

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:52 PM (uhVAy)

====

I saw some headline that its traffic had nosedived because people who would use it for researching things like technical/software questions are just using chatbots instead. Since, you know, chatbots were trained on Reddit and know everything written on Reddit.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:53 PM (xjopy)

180 Yea, but it has one of the greatest one-liners in all action-movie history ....

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum."

Supposely, Roddy Piper ad libbed that line.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:50 PM (iFTx/)

====

The first 2/3 is messy, angry, and memorable. It has real positive qualities.

But that third act, man. It's awful.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:52 PM (xjopy)
___________

You mean, when Roddy is just wandering around downtown LA with a shotgun, blasting people at random? That's not a great way to deal with an alien invasion?

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:53 PM (iFTx/)

181 >>>The original flammable Halloween costume.

Pick up a Johnny Human Torch costume from Mainway Toys. It's a bag full of rags and gas.

Posted by: Irwin Mainway at October 30, 2026 03:54 PM (1wjle)

182 Not sure my favorite Halloween movie, but Alien is up there

Posted by: Skip at October 30, 2026 03:54 PM (Ia/+0)

183 180 You mean, when Roddy is just wandering around downtown LA with a shotgun, blasting people at random? That's not a great way to deal with an alien invasion?

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:53 PM (iFTx/)

========

When he's shooting people for "selling out", deus ex machinas his way onto an alien ship, and it's just random, lazy action filmmaking from Carpenter.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:54 PM (xjopy)

184 Proof of reincarnation.

https://tinyurl.com/3u9y9csf

Miles Davis has come back as office building door.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, We're All Dan Sullivan Now at October 30, 2026 03:54 PM (ndZc7)

185 See? It's the Irish.

The prior generations of aunts, uncles, and our parents have all passed on but when alive, one woman was considered the family witch, a wise woman, in keeping with tradition. (Not at all like witches of Europe or America.). I guess the concept came from the Druids.

Interesting given they spent so much time in church tied to catholism, with one Aunt becoming a nun. Tradition!!

Thanks for the fascinating Halloween history, Ace.

Posted by: L - No nic... at October 30, 2026 03:55 PM (NFX2v)

186 Reading candy ingredients labels is both enlightening and frightening. There are apparently very few chocolates into which they don’t dump poison like seed oils and corn syrup.

Posted by: Marcus T at October 30, 2026 03:55 PM (dhhKu)

187 You mean, when Roddy is just wandering around downtown LA with a shotgun, blasting people at random? That's not a great way to deal with an alien invasion?
Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:53 PM (iFTx/)

Then? No. Now? ......

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 30, 2026 03:55 PM (1Ff7Z)

188 Okay Prince of Darkness not a vampire movie.

Vampires is a decent Vampire movie by Carpenter. Stars James Woods .

Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 03:55 PM (Ti9vn)

189 Wasn't the book based on the movie?
Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 03:51 PM (Ti9vn)

Lovecraft's book/story is At the Mountains of Madness set in Antarctica. I like how he finds horror everywhere...central Australia, Vermont, Boston Suburbs...ok I'll give him Boston.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:55 PM (uhVAy)

190 Well the etymology of most familiar basic items is going to be pagany, since Christianity is a latecomer and can't replace every word. Hence the infiltration of local festival ideas into Christian festivals.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (uhVAy)
---
One could argue that several things in the "Patriarch era" of the Bible are "pagany".

Abram did not invent his own covenant tradition. Jacob was not told to prevent Rachel from stealing "house gods".

The traditions by which Onan owed Tamar an heir and even the double portion rule seem to come from the Levant culture itself. Not to mention the way that Judah owed Tamar an heir, either through his last son or himself.

In fact, were Abraham really the "Father of Nations" there might not be much that is specific to the Jacob strain's tradition of Abraham, not to mention a pre-Mosaic "oral tradition" which who knows how much of what the Spirit would disclose to him he already knew when writing the Pentateuch.

So there are cross strains between the Bible and levant culture.

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 03:56 PM (Fi81e)

191 Meet Me in St Louie Halloween scene is great.. Parents sent their young kids out with flour to throw on people who open their doors and the kids build a huge fire in the middle of the street and burn up old chairs and furniture with no supervision... The good old days I guess...

Posted by: It's me donna at October 30, 2026 03:56 PM (+gK6I)

192
The definition of Easter (the "computus of Easter", computus paschalis) is basically this. The date of Easter will the the first Sunday *after* the first full Moon occurring *on or after* the vernal equinox.

That will get you there most of the time. Now, the equinox is the ecclesiastical equinox, defined as Mar. 21 exactly, not the actually astronomical event, and the full Moon is not the astronomical event either, but based on a lunar calendar.

During the Gregorian reform, it's well-know they "fixed" the solar calendar relative to the equinoxes, but they also fixed the lunar calendar to be more accurate as well.

The Orthodox didn't, and still use the Julian calendar, and the older lunar calendar, which has drifted about 5 days on average from the actual full Moon dates. And that is the big difference between West and East on the date of Easter.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at October 30, 2026 03:56 PM (w6EFb)

193 >>>Thanks for the fascinating Halloween history, Ace.

glad some liked!

I thought the jack o lantern origin was neat. Never heard that before.

Really makes me think Halloween III is real.

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 03:57 PM (1wjle)

194 Is now a good time to buy some NVDA now that it's probably done with the nosedive?

Posted by: bonhomme at October 30, 2026 03:57 PM (mkw2N)

195 189
Lovecraft's book/story is At the Mountains of Madness set in Antarctica. I like how he finds horror everywhere...central Australia, Vermont, Boston Suburbs...ok I'll give him Boston.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:55 PM (uhVAy)

=========

There's a CG test of Guillermo del Toro's unmade adaptation of the film out in the wilds of Youtube. He was lining up nine figures to make it, but funding fell through (not a shock).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBA6TThb1yI

Still, I want the movie.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:57 PM (xjopy)

196
Halloween is for Diabetus.

Posted by: Wilford Brimley at October 30, 2026 03:58 PM (OkYzo)

197 I guess the concept came from the Druids.

Interesting given they spent so much time in church tied to catholism, with one Aunt becoming a nun. Tradition!!

Thanks for the fascinating Halloween history, Ace.

Posted by: L - No nic... at October 30, 2026 03:55 PM (NFX2v)

Druids were all men. Medicine from old women just evolves from child and family care and thus the elderly would have the most experience. Males in medicine are more tied to battlefield and injury treatment.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:58 PM (uhVAy)

198 Love the old costumes.

Posted by: wth at October 30, 2026 03:58 PM (UjdFS)

199 Watch The Robe with Richard Burton if you want a good All Saints Day movie.

Posted by: Marcus T at October 30, 2026 03:58 PM (dhhKu)

200 ----
RMBS is this you?????

Posted by: lin-duh at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (VCgbV)

LMMFAO!

Well played.....

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at October 30, 2026 03:59 PM (ccf/V)

201 The Orthodox didn't, and still use the Julian calendar, and the older lunar calendar, which has drifted about 5 days on average from the actual full Moon dates. And that is the big difference between West and East on the date of Easter.
Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at October 30, 2026 03:56 PM (w6EFb)

Irish churches and English ones split for a while about Easter dates IIRC.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:59 PM (uhVAy)

202 I love Halloween. I decorate inside and outside. My living room looks like the Addams Family lives here.

It's fun to cozy up in that room and watch a scary movie. Or some really good college football is welcome, too.

Posted by: hobbitopoly at October 30, 2026 04:00 PM (ZgwKJ)

203
I remember actually getting homemade popcorn balls and Carmel Apples while trick or treating in the neighborhood as a kid.

Now if you saw homemade food given out, it's directly to the trash.

Posted by: Frank Barone at October 30, 2026 04:00 PM (OkYzo)

204 I remember when we got beaten at every door at Halloween, and we liked it!

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 04:00 PM (xjopy)

205 >>>I remember actually getting homemade popcorn balls and Carmel Apples while trick or treating in the neighborhood as a kid.

yum.

Posted by: ace at October 30, 2026 04:01 PM (1wjle)

206 That doesn't really have the right ring to it....

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sPumpkin at October 30, 2026 04:01 PM (k5CNB)

207
Even when the full Moon occurs late enough to be on or after Mar. 21 in both the Julian and Gregorian, you'll still notice the Eastern Easter occurs about a week later usually. And that's the difference between the lunar calendar. The Orthodox lunar calendar will have the full Moon date about 5 days later.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at October 30, 2026 04:02 PM (w6EFb)

208 93 I love wearing my Halloween slutty Field Marshal costume of a chest full of medals and a Speedo.
Posted by: Field Marshal Zhukov
======
Really scary to kids ringing the doorbell for candy when you show up to give it to them.
Posted by: whig
......

But if their Moms are with them you might get lucky.

Posted by: wth at October 30, 2026 04:02 PM (UjdFS)

209 >>>204 I remember when we got beaten at every door at Halloween, and we liked it!

well we had it tough. Every door we knocked on, the owner would kidnap us and keep us in his cellar for five years with nought to eat but the rats.

Posted by: Yorkshireman Ace at October 30, 2026 04:02 PM (1wjle)

210 Up above, it's noted that apples were put outside homes so dangerous (presumably evil) spirits would say "oh look, an apple, I won't go inside and eat anyone!"
---
In Bali, spirits have to travel in straight lines, so if you put a slab out in front of the temple entry way, they can't get around it.

Straight lines.

It's kind of the theme that we resisted a kind of metaphysical hopelessness by a sort of frivolous hopium in our beliefs about the pagan spirits of old.

In a way, there was no other way to dispel the spirits pre-Christians used to believe in, but they minimized them and they only became semi-powerless tricksters.

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 04:02 PM (Fi81e)

211 Candied apples and popcorn balls. Candy bars that were full sized, not the two bite stuff.

Posted by: Ben Had at October 30, 2026 04:03 PM (8Uo7a)

212 209 >>>204 I remember when we got beaten at every door at Halloween, and we liked it!

well we had it tough. Every door we knocked on, the owner would kidnap us and keep us in his cellar for five years with nought to eat but the rats.

Posted by: Yorkshireman Ace at October 30, 2026 04:02 PM (1wjle)

========

These younguns today are just soft.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 04:03 PM (xjopy)

213 Wasn't the book based on the movie?
Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 03:51 PM (Ti9vn)

Lovecraft's book/story is At the Mountains of Madness set in Antarctica. I like how he finds horror everywhere...central Australia, Vermont, Boston Suburbs...ok I'll give him Boston.
Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:55 PM (uhVAy

The movie was not based on a Lovecraft story but it was more of a homage. It was an original screenplay from my understanding that a book was released after the movie by Sutter.

Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 04:04 PM (Ti9vn)

214 Wow. A lot of research, Ace!

I knew it was pagan connected, then All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day to cleanse.

No idea about the bobbing apples in flames, etc. Or the walking backwards with a mirror to see your future spouse. Learned a lot!

As a young girl I never worried about my future spouse as I knew he was out there somewhere.

I'd worry about the kids in straw outfits around the bonfires, but they are all dead now or ghosts.

My grandkids are a basketball player, a princess mermaid, and a toddling flamingo girlie. We don't do scary creepy stuff in our family.

Ever since I saw The Omen I've never been the same. The Shining endeth my King novels as I screamed washing my face when I didn't see my new husband walk into the loo.

Despise anything demonic and don't go there.

Creepy movies for me include Nichole Kidman's face, altho I tolerate her in Lioness.

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at October 30, 2026 04:04 PM (hzuYO)

215 I saw some headline that its traffic had nosedived because people who would use it for researching things like technical/software questions are just using chatbots instead. Since, you know, chatbots were trained on Reddit and know everything written on Reddit.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 03:53 PM (xjopy)

There's always been lots of poison in there aside from a few places. Possibly the growth of personal Discord forums is reducing Reddit use.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 04:04 PM (uhVAy)

216 >>>I knew it was pagan connected, then All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day to cleanse.

oh I forgot All Soul's Day.

Posted by: Ace at October 30, 2026 04:04 PM (1wjle)

217 I remember when someone gave out poisoned pixie sticks.

Leftists ruin everything.

Posted by: polynikes at October 30, 2026 04:05 PM (Ti9vn)

218
Since we're talking about horror movies, which one is it with this scene: something like the entrance to a long, scary brick hallway maybe lined with prison-like cells, there's a young, terrified girl on the other side of something like a gurney or table from a guy with a weird, still smile -- he looks sort of like Jesus. The music is getting louder and louder as the girl realizes what's going on/who he is, and he's staring into her eyes with this smile, and she's looking at him horrified. She's on the side of the table that leads down the hallway.

Which one is that? It's one of the famous ones.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at October 30, 2026 04:05 PM (mmrXZ)

219 >>>Ever since I saw The Omen I've never been the same

the Omen was pretty good. I should watch that again.

Posted by: Ace at October 30, 2026 04:05 PM (1wjle)

220 In the town I grew up in there was one house we always went to. The woman who lived there was fairly attractive and liked to drink. She would always wear revealing Halloween costumes where you catch some nipple or worse. We went to that house about 10 times and tried to change up our costumes so she didn’t notice. I’m still asking for forgiveness on that one. But woo-boy, we started talking about Halloween on July 4th.

Posted by: Marcus T at October 30, 2026 04:06 PM (A55d8)

221 I really enjoy caramel apples. ( the kind without the nuts) and cider donuts. One of the nice things about the Fall season along with the changing trees.

I also appreciated the Halloween parades at the school and taking our son along to the local town for Halloween. Once he was dressed as an Imperial Storm Trooper and another time as a policeman . I think Halloween Trick or Treating has gone out of fashion.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 30, 2026 04:06 PM (JrHfD)

222 Really makes me think Halloween III is real.
Posted by: ace

===

It's a terrible horror movie that I somehow enjoyed because it's such a crazy premise.

That jingle will be in my brain forever.
https://tinyurl.com/cdtcnkaz

Posted by: Sharpie at October 30, 2026 04:06 PM (BvOE+)

223 My grandkids are a basketball player, a princess mermaid, and a toddling flamingo girlie. We don't do scary creepy stuff in our family.

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at October 30, 2026 04:04 PM (hzuYO)

My brother did a full body paper mache T Rex costume one year.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 04:06 PM (uhVAy)

224 219 >>>Ever since I saw The Omen I've never been the same

the Omen was pretty good. I should watch that again.

Posted by: Ace at October 30, 2026 04:05 PM (1wjle)

=========

The remake from 2006 is surprisingly...okay. Best Omen movie since the original.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 04:07 PM (xjopy)

225 So in some sense, all "religion" is a sort of hopium that we have power against the "darker forces" of the universe.

I can't totally reject that idea, even though it does not make the case "it's all made up" irresistible, even if there's a lot of man-centered imagination involved.

A trinket keeps the devil in Jack's pocket, nothing about the Will of God and God's purpose in Jack's life. Just the trappings. And the same thing with the sort of "magic" of carving a cross into a tree. The shape, not the concurrence with God's will.

We can sort of steal power from God as a sort of "religious symbol magic", because the tale tells us the Lord is not to happy with Jack at the end.

Posted by: Axeman at October 30, 2026 04:07 PM (Fi81e)

226 >>>It's a terrible horror movie that I somehow enjoyed because it's such a crazy premise.
That jingle will be in my brain forever.

I like it. It gets a bit slow during the investigation phase, sure, and you can see the lack of budget, but I like the weird robots and Stacy Nelkin's boobies are outstanding.

And the payoff to the premise is truly horrific.

Posted by: Ace at October 30, 2026 04:07 PM (1wjle)

227 Candied apples and popcorn balls. Candy bars that were full sized, not the two bite stuff.
Posted by: Ben Had

I remember tipping off other trick or treaters as to what houses were giving full sized candy bars.

Those were the days when we went out without adult accompaniment. No all kids have mom or dad with them.

Posted by: Tuna at October 30, 2026 04:07 PM (lJ0H4)

228 In the Philippines, they had a serpent-dragon god big and powerful enough to swallow the moon. Bakunawa. How did they keep this planet-destroyer away? By banging pots and pans.
Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 30, 2026 03:48 PM (iFTx/)

Also a good treatment for eclipses of the sun or moon.
Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 03:51 PM (uhVAy)

Also a good way to protest governmental austerity measures too.

Posted by: Kindltot at October 30, 2026 04:08 PM (rbvCR)

229 Ever since I started regularly reading the Bible, none of those movies has an effect on me.

Good always overcomes evil. Always.

Posted by: Marcus T at October 30, 2026 04:08 PM (A55d8)

230 >>>The remake from 2006 is surprisingly...okay. Best Omen movie since the original.

i heard that was good, and I heard that even the prequel was good. "The First Omen" or something. About the nun the devil impregnated to create his evil bastard.

Posted by: Ace at October 30, 2026 04:08 PM (1wjle)

231 I think Halloween Trick or Treating has gone out of fashion.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 30, 2026 04:06 PM (JrHfD)

The trunk or treats have put a kybosh on most of it. Can't tell for sure, just notice we have fewer and fewer each year, but there aren't that many smaller kids in the neighborhood. Might not give out candy next year. Kid will be fifteen. Sounds like a year to give it up.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 30, 2026 04:08 PM (1Ff7Z)

232 Every door we knocked on, the owner would kidnap us and keep us in his cellar for five years with nought to eat but the rats.

Posted by: Yorkshireman

You had rats?
luxury!

We had to gnaw on our arms.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at October 30, 2026 04:08 PM (NnhvP)

233 "I really liked The Others"

I had to read that again because I thought it said "The Otters".

Posted by: fd at October 30, 2026 04:08 PM (MWfyi)

234 Thanks for the deep dive on lore, Ace. Movie reviews, even horror movies, are evergreen, and we will happily read them later. Thanks for taking the time to do this before the weekend hits.

Appreciate you!

Posted by: LizLem at October 30, 2026 04:08 PM (0vz7x)

235 oh wait I saw The Omen remake, with Liev Schreiber. I guess it was okay. Forgettable for me, obviously.

Posted by: Ace at October 30, 2026 04:09 PM (1wjle)

236 I really enjoy caramel apples. ( the kind without the nuts) and cider donuts. One of the nice things about the Fall season along with the changing trees.

I also appreciated the Halloween parades at the school and taking our son along to the local town for Halloween. Once he was dressed as an Imperial Storm Trooper and another time as a policeman . I think Halloween Trick or Treating has gone out of fashion.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 30, 2026 04:06 PM (JrHfD)

One year a newlywed couple made caramel apples and nobody took them and she was so sad. When we got back from round 1 the six of us kids went over in a body and ate all her apples, razor blades or no razor blades.

Posted by: Oldcat at October 30, 2026 04:09 PM (uhVAy)

237
I saw some headline that its traffic had nosedived because people who would use it for researching things like technical/software questions are just using chatbots instead. Since, you know, chatbots were trained on Reddit and know everything written on Reddit.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison

===============

For sure a few of the info forums are dead or dying. It's funny though, I always think of reddit as a place to vent the sort of idiocy our moron Interceptor finds. Just a place for nonexpert chatter about movies, politics, games, etc.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at October 30, 2026 04:09 PM (mmrXZ)

238 230 >>>The remake from 2006 is surprisingly...okay. Best Omen movie since the original.

i heard that was good, and I heard that even the prequel was good. "The First Omen" or something. About the nun the devil impregnated to create his evil bastard.

Posted by: Ace at October 30, 2026 04:08 PM (1wjle)

=======

Jay at RedLetterMedia gushed over it, but Jay from RedLetterMedia is a sick pervert.

Might as well watch something classy like Ken Russell's The Devils instead.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 04:09 PM (xjopy)

239 There's always been lots of poison in there aside from a few places. Possibly the growth of personal Discord forums is reducing Reddit use.
Posted by: Oldcat
=======
Discord is making all its chats other than those started as private as internet discoverable. Same as Reddit did shortly before it sold the data outright to AI companies.

Act accordingly if you need to scrub your Discord files.

Posted by: whig at October 30, 2026 04:09 PM (E4rtv)

240 No wonder religious people have such a problem with it.

October 31 is also the day when Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses in Wittenberg.

So Halloween also is the anniversary of the Protestant Reformation

Posted by: Community Notes at October 30, 2026 04:10 PM (a6PrB)

241
Milutin Milankovitch, of Milankovitch Cycle fame and the Revised Julian calendar, attended some Eastern Synod back in the early 1920s as a astronomical delegate, and they came up with a proposal to reconcile the date of Easter across of all of Christendom.

Basically, it was to define it precisely based on the astronomical events, and use the local mean time of a meridian passing through Jerusalem for the actual calendar date and time reference to determine the first Sunday after those events.

They sort of agreed to "think about it", and have been thinking about for a little over 100 years.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at October 30, 2026 04:10 PM (w6EFb)

242 The spawn loves caramel apples.

Posted by: lin-duh at October 30, 2026 04:10 PM (VCgbV)

243 Probably more dark than spooky. Angel Heart.
Posted by: scampydog
_______

I'd call it spooky, especially the ending. And those veiled women.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at October 30, 2026 04:10 PM (JzUSu)

244 235 oh wait I saw The Omen remake, with Liev Schreiber. I guess it was okay. Forgettable for me, obviously.

Posted by: Ace at October 30, 2026 04:09 PM (1wjle)

=========

I bought the big Arrow set of the whole series because I wanted the Blu-ray of just the first one, the remastered version only appearing in that box set.

I sold all the others individual except that first one and the remake. The only two worth ever thinking about again.

Not even Sam Neill can make the third one watchable.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 30, 2026 04:11 PM (xjopy)

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